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  • Cable TV began in the 1950s as a way of bringing TV signals to places that could not otherwise receive them.

  • Cable TV reached maturity by the turn of the century and was facing competition from DBS satellite systems.

  • The Telecommunications Act of 1996 permitted cable and telephone companies to compete with one another.

  • Internet TV developed in the late 1990s and became more popular with the growth of broadband.

  • Cable and satellite systems are structured differently from those of conventional TV.

  • Cable television is dominated by large multiple system operators. Two companies, DirecTV and the Dish Network, are the leading DBS providers.

  • Internet video can be categorized by source (professional or amateur) and content (original or repurposed).

  • User-generated videos, such as those on YouTube, has become extremely popular.

  • Internet video sites make money by charging a fee for their content or by selling advertising.

  • Nielsen provides rating data for cable/satellite networks. Ratings for online video-sharing sites are provided by companies that measure Internet usage.








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